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A Folk Set Apart is a compilation album by American musician Cass McCombs, released in December 2015 by Domino Records.

Blending genres such as rock, folk, psychedelic, punk, and alt country, he has played in numerous bands in the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest during the 1990s, often in DIY spaces, before relocating to New York City. He moved to San Francisco in 2001, where he recorded his debut E.P., entitled Not the Way E.P., released on Monitor Records. McCombs then recorded a Peel Session for John Peel in 2003, and that year released his first LP A. McCombs and his band spent much of 2003 and 2004 touring, otherwise dividing his time amongst the Pacific Northwest, England and Baltimore.

His songs have been featured in films including the surf film The Present (2009), and Ralph Arlyck documentary Following Sean, as well as notable skate videos featuring Jason Dill, Jerry Hsu Chima Ferguson and Dylan Rieder. His song "Bobby, King Of Boys Town" appeared in HBO show Girls (Season 2, Episode 9 - "On All Fours").

A Folk Set Apart is a set of rarities, B-sides and space junk (as noted on the back cover) culled from over a decade's worth of home and studio recordings, this is certainly the cabinet of curiosities you'd expect from the prolific singer/songwriter.

Many of these tracks initially saw release as small-batch split singles and B-sides and they're arranged here in a very loose chronological order. The wry observations and dusty lo-fi tones of his 2003 debut are mirrored here by shambling castoffs from the same era, like the early single "I Cannot Lie".

McCombs' range has always been part of his appeal and the lush psych ballad “Twins” (a B-side) is among the album's brightest highlights. "Bradley Manning", a darkly slinky ballad about transgender military whistleblower Chelsea Manning, is one of the most affecting tracks McCombs has produced, and the jangly power pop of "Evangeline".

By the nature of its content and assemblage, there's not a lot of flow on A Folk Set Apart and it’s clear why some tracks didn’t make his albums – but Cass McCombs’ cutting room floor is grimier than most, but there is enough strong material here to attract new fans and provide longtime listeners a deeper look into McCombs' curious world.